


love in colour

by starlightdreaming (1qazwas)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Minor Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Kim Jungwoo, Minor Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, One Shot, amusement park meet-cute, author is inexperienced allow me, doyoung tried to be taeyong's cupid but it fails, ignore the fact that i've been to an amusement park only like once..two times, it's okay though jaehyun is here to save the day, slight angst, taeyong is a sad pining mess, they're both a little awkward and shy, wholesome babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25712215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1qazwas/pseuds/starlightdreaming
Summary: “You know, it’s funny, I genuinely didn’t think my night would turn out like this.” And this time Jaehyun looks at him, interested.“I,” He starts but thinks about the conversation he had earlier with Doyoung and back-tracks, shaking his head and laughing. Jaehyun only looks more intrigued, leaning in and tilting his head at him, his lips curved up into a small smile.“What?”“No, it’s nothing. I...I just thought about what things would have been like if I’d stayed home like I was going to.”[based on chapter 4 (love song) of neocommunication centre: open!]
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Kim Jungwoo, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, johnil and dowoo are mentioned but very briefly
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58
Collections: meimei's responses





	love in colour

**Author's Note:**

> welcome and enjoy soft jaeyong in all its glory with a dash of shy, pining taeyong and equally shy jaehyun! also title is taken from taeyeon's love in colour, i thought it was apt!
> 
> edit: apologies if i have grammatical errors and similar issues, i proofread it but alas im shite at that
> 
> today's music pick: unbreakable - wayv  
> (i was listening to this as i wrote and i know it in NO WAY reflects this fic at all but i got deep into wayv's discography and haven't stopped replaying 'awaken the world' so-

Sometimes, Taeyong wonders why he’s here. Not in the existential sense, just...why is he _here_ , standing alone in the middle of an amusement park, in what seems like a double date and a set-up. He stares lifelessly at the penguin plush in his hands, pinching its little beak and sighs, glancing up at the two couples _and_ his ‘date’ enthusiastically crowded around the cotton candy stall before shifting his gaze back to the stupid penguin in his hands.

“How did we end up like this?” He mutters, squishing the penguin’s face between his hands.

In all honesty, Taeyong didn’t like amusement parks all that much. In fact, he’d pretty much be _anywhere_ but here on a Thursday evening. Now that he was in his twenties the novel aspect of it had long since worn off, and honestly, he wonders why people even bothered anymore. _Everything_ is expensive as shit and it’s almost always crowded, rowdy groups of teenagers and loud families roaming around the park like they owned the place. _This sucks._

Wiping at his brow for the fiftieth time that night, he attempts to conjure up an excuse to leave, glancing again at who he presumes is his ‘date’ for the night, courtesy of Doyoung’s many, _many_ machinations. They seem nervous, and Taeyong feels bad for being such terrible company, watching as they shoot him a shy ‘thumbs up’ from the queue as he musters up the energy to shoot him back a reassuring smile. _God, he feels terrible._ The guy genuinely seems like a nice guy but Taeyong feels something less like romance and more like kinship with them and has no idea how to proceed with telling them that at all. _‘Oh hey, I had a good time but I think we’d be better off as friends._ ’ Sounds like it’d go down pretty well but in Taeyong’s experience he’s had variations of anger and hurt thrown back at him, getting doused with a chocolate milkshake on one unfortunate occasion so...It was by no means a stellar record.

It didn’t help that he was 24-going-on-25 in a couple of months and had still never had a proper relationship, or even properly _dated_ for that matter. It wasn’t that he wasn’t looking, it’s just he never found the courage to commit to anything. It all felt so vapid, as if it was less about love but rather the image of it.

So, Doyoung eventually took it into his own hands to be his very own Cupid, setting him up on blind dates, signing him up for dating apps like Bumble and Tinder, all of which always ended up in disaster. Everyone either only wanted sex or were completely incompatible with him in a pretty fundamental way (‘Films? Really, Yong? You’re incompatible because they don’t have the same taste in films as you?’ ‘Their favourite director was TARANTINO, Doyoung, it’s self-sabotage!’). It had been a pretty dismal time, worse now that his college crush was now dating his friend Johnny, meaning that he’d be bombarded with this fact every- _fucking_ -where when he was busy trying to wallow in his own despair.

Taeyong...was happy for them, he _was_ . But imagine your crush of 3... _3 years_ was suddenly snatched up one day, in under 3 _fucking_ months and by his own friend, no less. It’s not like Johnny knew he had been pining over Taeil, he never told anyone except Doyoung (by accident, he was drunk) and now he was stuck between watching them be loving and sappy on his couch or being lonely and depressed in his room. So, if Taeyong isn’t a little put out now that the one person he thought he might have a chance with was taken right out of his grasp, he’d be lying. Regardless, Doyoung somehow found optimism _everywhere_ , even in Taeyong’s dry love-life.

“You should just put yourself out there instead of sitting here alone all the time.” Doyoung had pointed out one day, as he was deep in one of his self-made pity parties, sitting on the floor with sweet packets strewn around him, as Doyoung stared at him, mild concern etched on his face.

“You say that like it’s _easy_.” He stuffed another chocolate in his mouth, his eyes glued onto the screen, his mind drifting between watching and drowning in his own thoughts.

“Because it is.” This time Taeyong stops and glares at him, Doyoung only shrugging before sweeping away some sweet wrappers to sit on the floor next to him, reaching for a chocolate only to be swatted away.

“Ow, come on-.” He cradles his hand, exaggerating his pain as he typically does when Taeyong is being extra selfish.

“No, you don’t get any. This is _my_ pity party, no one invited you.” He pouts, and Doyoung has the audacity to laugh.

“You’re such a baby.”

“Am not.”

“You are, now gimme one.” He reaches for the sweet packet again only to be swatted away once more.

“No.”

Too tired to try again, Doyoung leans back, staring at him with an indescribable expression on his face. There’s a beat of silence before he asks, “Why don’t you just try?”

“Because, Doyoung,” He paused, exasperated, “I’ve _tried_ many times, and it never works out. Plus-.” He pauses again, before waving his hand dismissively, “Never-mind.”

“Look, if it’s because of-.”

“ _Don’t_ , say it.” 

“You’re gonna have to get over it sooner or later, Yong.” And he _knows_ , he knows that but it’s so hard to see him in class, in band practice and in his own damn home all the time. It’s not like he liked him for a couple of months, Taeyong had been in love with Taeil for 3 whole years, but he was too shy, too worried that if he said anything, their relationship would be messed up by it. He was one of Taeyong’s best friends, Taeyong didn’t want to risk ruining their relationship if Taeil didn’t feel the same. So, eventually when Johnny showed up one day to help out when Doyoung had been sick and couldn’t help them set up for the music festival, he’d taken the whole band by storm. He ended up working with them more and more, until he let slip that he was a DJ and could set them up to play at a gig up in Seoul, and then he was pretty much a whole fucking member.

Taeyong watched Taeil fall out of reach and straight into Johnny’s arms, and couldn’t do a thing to stop it. It was love, and nothing else mattered, nothing could have stood between them. Taeyong had simply just gotten the short end of the stick, and he couldn’t even blame anyone for it.

But unfortunately, Doyoung had caught him in a bad spiral and so Taeyong ended up feeling both pathetic and spiteful, “It’s not that easy, Doyoung, it just isn’t. You don’t get it.”

“Okay, what don’t I get?”

“You _have_ a boyfriend, of course everything’s easy to you. Jungwoo practically fell into your lap, while _I_ went and watched my crush get together with my friend _right in front of me_ like some sick joke from the universe.” There’s a beat of silence and he aggressively pops another chocolate in his mouth.

He sensed the hurt before he even spoke, Doyoung shifting uncomfortably next to him, “Jungwoo didn’t just _fall_ into my lap.” 

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Taeyong rolls his eyes a little more aggressively than he was feeling and Doyoung takes it more personally than he expected him to.

“And you can’t blame the _universe_ for that, come on, Taeyong, you’re being childish.” Right, now _that_ strikes a chord.

“Me? Childish? Really? It was-.”

“3 years, I _know_ , you say it all the time. This is what I mean, it’s been 6 months and you’re still-.”

“I don’t want to hear it, Doyoung, just get out.”

 _Now_ , he hears the hurt and anger in his voice as he stands up, looking down on Taeyong in frustration, “Why are you being like this?”

And while Taeyong could have apologised, he’s figured he’d already dug his grave so he ignores common sense to only poke his wound further. “Because everything _fucking_ sucks, okay? And I don’t want your _fucking_ advice, so just leave me the _fuck_ alone, how about that?”

There’s another beat of silence and Taeyong realises he’s gone too far because Doyoung yanks the chocolate away from him, before leaving without a single word, slamming his door so loudly that he winces in regret.

Now that he’s gone and pissed his best friend off when he was _already_ feeling sour anyway, he genuinely wants to throw himself out the window. 

He felt bad, and it didn’t help that everything had been so terrible, what with his class presentation going wrong because he’d been the only one prepared for it, meaning he had to carry the entire thing alone and then bumping into Johnny and Taeil after class only consolidated how shit he felt. But he was wrong for dumping all of that on Doyoung, and for implying that Jungwoo had flung himself at Doyoung when it was the complete opposite (or even for implying that that was so bad, especially seeing how in love they both were).

He’d met Jungwoo a bundle of times already and he’d honestly never met anyone _quieter_ than Taeil, but he was so sincere and sweet in everything he did that Taeyong found himself liking him, much to Doyoung’s relief. Not that Doyoung had to worry about it in the first place but he guessed that the news about Taeil would make Taeyong more emotionally volatile about things like relationships (and to be fair, he was right). He knew he was difficult, and had tried hard to fix it but it still lingered like an old stain, tainting him everywhere he went. But he genuinely was happy for his friends, as jealous as he could be. If they were happy, that’s all that really mattered at the end of the day and he made sure to relay that as much as possible but he supposed he probably wasn’t all that convincing as he glanced around him, his whole room a mess with sweet wrappers all over the floor and desk, his favourite sweet potato snacks left open to practically ferment on his bedside table.

Sighing to himself, he moved to start clearing up, grabbing the bin next to the door, grimacing at how much he had to clean. _Had it really gotten this bad? How long had he been festering in here?_ (Doyoung would later begrudgingly supply that it had been a week and Taeyong balked.) He should really stop being jealous too, he realised. It tainted his friendships with a lingering bitterness to everything he did, feeling like he was souring the mood whenever they all hung out (double and blind dates included). They never intentionally made him feel left out either, inviting him to things even though he would often refuse, at the time too busy with his work to go out.

Honestly, where did he find these people, who were able to stand him even at his worst and still want him around. He looked to the door and sighed again, resolving to apologise to Doyoung later, knowing he was the one being a little bitch when Doyoung was only trying to help him.

It wasn’t until later in the evening, when he and Doyoung had made up, that he sprung it on him. “Let’s go out.”

“I- I’m sorry?” He balked, staring at Doyoung in disbelief as he pulled out of the hug.

“Out. Let’s go.” He said, shrugging on a jacket as he looked at Taeyong impatiently.

“But it’s the evening.” He said dumbly, Doyoung rolling his eyes.

“Where would we go? Also I look like _this._ ” He continued, gesturing at his cat patterned pajamas, and messy (and honestly, kind of greasy) hair in continued disbelief.

“Right, sorry, I forget you practically live in those and never leave your room.” Doyoung remarked.

“I don’t like your tone.” He jabs back in feigned offence as Doyoung laughs, pushing him towards the bathroom.

“Wait a minute, I never said I _wanted_ to go out.”

“It wasn’t a question. Now hurry up, I’ll go invite the others.” And like that, he was thrust into the bathroom without a second word, staring at his reflection and sighing for what now felt like the hundredth time.

By the time Taeyong realised where he was, it was too late to make his way back, and Doyoung had clung to him so tightly that he felt almost like leaving was out of the question entirely, especially now that he also had what genuinely seems like a terribly-concealed blind date. So as they wandered around, enjoying the various game stalls that had been set up, Taeyong winning several of the games much to the chagrin of Johnny who failed every single time to win Taeil the plush he wanted, Taeyong did somehow find himself genuinely enjoying himself in spite of the circumstances. He ended up winning so much that he gifted them all to the others; a polar bear for Doyoung (he’d been eyeing it since they had started playing), a teddy bear for Taeil and a dumpling toy for Mark, his ‘date’ who had looked over the moon. The penguin he had kept for himself, unable to part with the stupid toy ever since he locked eyes with it at the booth. Johnny and Jungwoo had tagged along too and this is how Taeyong found himself, now holding a cotton candy treat while waiting in line to ride ‘The Swarm’. _The hell kind-of name is that anyway?_

Everyone had been excited to go on but Taeyong was unsure, shifting around as they had all queued up. Doyoung was the only one who noticed and nudged him, only to have Taeyong shake his head, still anxious about going on the ride. It was only when they were closer to the front Taeyong couldn’t hold it in anymore and effectively bailed.

Mark, _poor guy_ , offered to stay with him but he shook his head, patting him on the head and ushering him to stay with the group, placating him with a ‘I’ll be fine, I’ll go on a different ride.’ And so, here Taeyong was, penguin plush stuffed into his backpack (sorry, Bubu) and staring at the ferris wheel apprehensively, watching it carefully in case it had any hidden tricks like going backwards or really fast for no reason. ( _He later surmised that it was a perfectly fine ride._ )

Luckily, the line for the ferris wheel wasn’t too long compared to the other “more fun” rides either, so it didn’t take long for Taeyong to reach the front, watching as a loved-up couple took their seats together, looking all parts shy and eager. Taeyong had to guess they were on their first date and he tried not to be envious as he watched them bashfully hold hands. If Doyoung was with him, he’d at least not feel so lonely, being able to people-watch together and make up entire backstories about them like they usually did when they were bored from studying back when they were both in university.

Alas, Taeyong was completely alone, the rest of his group all too happy to go on that weird ride and he was far too deep into the night to simply leave, knowing Doyoung would nag his ear off for the rest of the week. So Taeyong settled for this, knowing if he concentrated enough, he’d be able to stomach being lifted so high off the ground. Plus, being night time, there was something so alluring about the way the park’s various lights shimmered, blending with each other as their paths crossed; a kaleidoscope of colour that felt like it hypnotised him into a sense of security. Admittedly, it was a sight that Taeyong loved the most and one he got the least, settling to look out his window now and then to take a glimpse of the lit up city beneath him. It wasn’t the same, the building lights all stark white and clinical, the traffic on the streets below dizzying and too hectic for him to get a peace of mind. So he figured he’d get what he could, stepping forward only to realise he’d reached the front.

“Uh, sorry dude but it’s two per car.” The worker spoke as he tiredly gestured at the empty car, and Taeyong gulped anxiously, not having thought this far ahead. Taking a quick glance at the seats they looked awfully cramped and if he had to share his silence with a random stranger, he’d rather not ride it at all. He shook his head, about to apologise for inconveniencing the worker before a jovial voice piped up beside him.

“If it’s okay with him, we can share the car.” The man smiled kindly at the worker, his dimples on full display, and Taeyong gulped again, this time out of something akin to bashfulness and unbridled attraction as the man shifted his gaze onto him, and for some heart-stopping reason smiling wider, his eyes turning into attractive crescents as Taeyong felt himself falling into whatever wonderful vortex this man’s charms were made of.

“Oh, I don’t-.” While everything in Taeyong screamed at him to just agree, he felt bad for effectively making this stranger get on the ride with him because he forgot to read the signs. But it was ineffective because the worker was already bored out of their mind, quickly opening the gate and ushering them through, and to be honest, Taeyong didn’t have half the mind to keep bothering the poor man.

“I’m sorry if I put you on the spot.” The stranger spoke up first, offering for him to sit down and Taeyong was too lost in how deep his voice was to pretend to be coy about it, sitting down immediately. As soon as the other man sat down, Taeyong noted just _how_ close they were; these seats really weren’t made for anyone older than 12.

“I figured since I was alone too, it might’ve been better to go on together, but I realise that might have been too forward.” He bit his lip and Taeyong found it hard to concentrate on anything now that they were so close, much less this man being attractive doing barely _anything_ at all; God was he finally losing his marbles? Was he really thirsting over some carnival stranger he just met?

Apparently so, because he replied, “No, no! It’s fine, I’m sorry too.” _What was he sorry for again?_ It didn’t matter since the stranger smiled again, extending his hand, “I’m Jaehyun but you can just call me Jae.” _God, who even introduces themselves with a handshake nowadays-_

“I-I’m Taeyong. Nice to meet you.” Shaking his hand and offering a flustered smile as he shifted to face forward, only to realise they were already moving. Taking a quick glance at Jae, who was smiling to himself, looking at the view, Taeyong found that he wasn’t even scared of the height anymore. In fact, the adrenaline he was feeling manifested in a weird sort of confidence he never had before.

“This is my favourite ride.” This earned him his attention, curious eyes searching his own before he got flustered again, pointing down at the park below them.

“You can’t see views like this on anything else.” He paused, turning to look at the tall tower ride and its screaming occupants and laughed, “Well, I mean, not like _this_ at least.”

Jae didn’t seem to reply so he continued, unsure why he was even talking in the first place but riding on this confidence boost anyway, “I’m usually pretty scared of rides so I can never get on one but this one...I feel most comfortable on this one. I always figured it was the lights or something, or how slow it is.”

“I’m kind of the same.” Taeyong looks over to him curiously and Jae shrugs to himself, running a hand through his hair.

“I can’t- I don’t really like rollercoasters all that much either. Ferris wheels are easier, you know?” He pauses and Taeyong hums in agreement, earning him another smile. _This guy smiles like it’s currency, Jesus Christ._ Jae continues, “Plus, sometimes you get to meet some interesting people.”

He must have expected Taeyong to get flustered so when he only quirks an eyebrow, Jae coughs out a laugh, rubbing sheepishly at his neck. _He’s cute._

“You know, it’s funny, I genuinely didn’t think my night would turn out like this.” And this time Jaehyun looks at him, interested.

“I,” He starts but thinks about the conversation he had earlier with Doyoung and back-tracks, shaking his head and laughing. Jaehyun only looks more intrigued, leaning in and tilting his head at him, his lips curved up into a small smile.

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing. I...I just thought about what things would have been like if I’d stayed home like I was going to.”

“Would you have preferred to?” Jae doesn’t look put out, just leaning in more and peering at his face and Taeyong flushes at the proximity.

“No!” And Jaehyun smirks at that as Taeyong continues, his voice small and shy, “This is probably the most I’ve enjoyed going out in a while.”

Finally leaning back, Jaehyun looks at Taeyong pensively, and Taeyong feels like running away out of sheer nerves, fiddling with his sleeves.

“Would you like to do this again?” And his eyes twinkle, his brown eyes melting into the darkness of the night. It feels like Taeyong could fall into those eyes over and over again without ever tiring of it. _Honestly though, who just casually_ **_looks_ ** _like this?_

He leans on the guard-rail, peering at Jaehyun, curiously.

“Like a date?” 

“Yeah.”

“Here?”

Jaehyun blinks at him and Taeyong immediately feels like an idiot. _Of course, he doesn’t mean ‘here’, you absolute dumbass._

“N-No? Do you not want to?”

Taeyong blanches, watching Jae’s face fall slightly and panicking, “No! God I’m sorry, of course I want to- No one’s ever asked for a second- I mean, like this before so I-.”

“Really? No one’s asked you out before?” Jaehyun continues, tapping his finger to his lips, looking contemplative again, “That makes no sense.” He looks so genuinely confused that Taeyong finds it more endearing, finding no room to be embarrassed because he seems so sincere. **_God_ ** _, he’s cute._

“Uhm, did you come here alone?” It catches Jae off-guard, not expecting Taeyong to be so forward and to be fair, even Taeyong was staggering after his assertion, following up with wide-eyes, his hands waving frantically in the air as Jae blinks at him.

“Oh God, I _didn’t_ mean it in a creepy way, I realised after I asked it sounded-.”

“No,” Jae barks out a laugh, “I came with my flatmates, they’re riding that one.” He leans in _again_ and Taeyong feels like his soul is going to leave his body, because he’s even closer this time, so much so that Taeyong can smell his cologne, and it takes several seconds before he shifts his gaze from his jaw to where he’s pointing. It turns out to be the exact same ride his _own_ friends ditched him for and Taeyong is starting to feel like this is all an absurd trick of fate.

“Wait, that’s-.” He turns, forgetting how close they were, and finds Jae gazing at him and something lurches in his chest.

Clearing his throat, Jae moves back, his ears flushing red and Taeyong moves to fiddle with his rings as they lull into silence, the ride now going around for the second and last time. _What the hell do people normally say to random strangers they’re attracted to?_ Squeezing his eyes shut briefly, he steels himself, trying to muster some courage to not let this chance slip him by.

They end up speaking at the same time, Jaehyun tilting his head to punctuate his observation, eyes gleaming with anticipation and Taeyong stutters a beat late: 

“By the way, you never answered my question.”

“Can I get your- huh?” Taeyong blinks at him and Jaehyun finds himself flushing even more. Taeyong's never met someone so easily flustered and he finds him infinitely more endearing.

“Do you _want_ to go on a date...with me?” He asks, adding before Taeyong could even reply, “We could meet at a cafe? Or go to an art gallery- I-If you’d like?” He stutters, unable to look at Taeyong at all this time, his ears growing redder by the second. Taeyong on the other hand, is at a loss. He genuinely didn’t anticipate his night ending like this at all, he simply couldn't understand why Jae would want to date him at all and after staring at him quizzically for a second, he nods enthusiastically, shooting him a shy smile.

It’s quite endearing seeing Jae look so chipper, and Taeyong imagines if they weren’t suspended nearly 100 feet in the air, he’d be bouncing up and down in his seat in barely contained excitement. His enthusiasm is contagious because Taeyong manages to ask for his number without stammering, both exchanging numbers, with Jaehyun tapping the call button for affirmation.

“There.” He smiles, his dimples on full display as he hands back his phone and Taeyong feels his heart flutter. They’re both so transfixed by each other they don’t even realise the ride has long grinded to a halt, the tired worker from before, loudly clearing their throat after staring at them impatiently. As they clumsily make their exit, laughing together like high-school sweethearts, Taeyong finds that he doesn’t want to leave at all.

But apparently, the universe doesn’t care all that much about Taeyong’s feelings because he hears his name, turning around to see Doyoung waving at him, the others following suit. **_Oh_ ** _shit._ He sees Mark walking next to Taeil and blanches. _Double shit._

Scrambling, he flashes a nervous glance at Jae, who only reaches to hold his hand, smiling gently. Taeyong is at a loss for the second time that night, gaping at him as he squeezes his hand. 

“It was nice to meet you, Taeyong.” And Taeyong barely has any time to register a single thing he said because he leans down to place a kiss on his knuckles (oh _God_ ), gentle and chaste and it feels like the moment lasts forever, or maybe Taeyong simply wants to live in this moment forever. It doesn’t help that Jae’s still holding his hand and gazing at him so warmly it feels as though he’s being wrapped around in a blanket, soft and gentle and incredibly loving. Taeyong never believed in things such as love at first sight, and while it’s hard not to when Jae looks at him like he’s the only star in the sky, but Taeyong’s willing to bet that he might be the one. So as overwhelmed as he feels, he musters up the courage to reply, feeling shy under his gaze.

“You too.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you once again to user hencas for everything, would i even be writing these soft pining fics if it weren't for you?


End file.
